Jay Calderon/The Desert Sun
A resident's front yard sign advocates for limiting short-term vacation rentals in the Deepwell neighborhood in Palm Springs oi August 2016. The Palm Springs City Council will meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday to discuss a revised vacation rentals ordinance that limits how many times a home can be rented and and puts to work the city’s newly formed short term rental enforcement division.(Photo11: Jay Calderon/The Desert Sun)Buy Photo

One of the most hotly contested issues in Palm Springs could get its day at the ballot box.

A representative for the citizens' group Palm Springs Neighbors for Neighborhoods said Wednesday that members had gathered more than double the signatures needed for a ballot initiative restricting vacation rentals in the city's single-family neighborhoods.

The petition will now have to be verified by Riverside County officials before any further steps can be taken. The group claimed it received more than 5,600 signatures.

"The proliferation of these de-facto motels is destroying our neighborhoods, block by block," said Stephen Rose, the group's spokesperson. "This initiative will give residents a voice in the future of their neighborhoods. We are all just one 'FOR SALE' sign away from having a full-time motel next door to us."

If enacted, the regulations set out in the petition would mean all rentals in R1-zoned neighborhoods (areas that are predominantly single-family homes), would have to be at least 28 days long. Condos or homes that are part of Homeowners Associations would be exempt, as they’re governed by the own regulations.

Rental owners would have two years to comply.

Buy Photo

Members of Palm Springs' subcommittee on vacation rentals, City Council Members J.R. Roberts, left at podium, and Geoff Kors, discuss vacation rental policy efforts in February.(Photo11: Richard Lui/The Desert Sun)

Bruce Hoban of Vacation Rental Owners and Neighbors of Palm Springs, a group that represents vacation rental owners, said the initiative would essentially constitute a ban since many–though not all–of the city's vacation rental homes are in single family neighborhoods.

He said Palm Springs' current ordinance—which limits a landlord to 36 bookings a year and prohibits vacation rentals in apartments—is being enforced and is working.

A long-debated issue in Palm Springs, the city passed an overhaul of its existing regulations at the end of 2016 following months of debate and meetings with residents and rental owners.

Before the ordinance had time to take effect, a group largely supported by the vacation rental industry started its own petition drive to halt the new regulations. That petition received enough signatures to put it on the ballot alongside city council elections and two tax measures earlier this month. In order to avoid that, however, the council amended the ordinance to address some of the concerns brought forward by the vacation rental industry.

After a first attempt at amending the ordinance fumbled, the council implemented new regulations in March, with support from Council members Ginny Foat, Geoff Kors and J.R. Roberts. Council member Chris Mills recused himself from voting on the regulations due to business conflicts.

NEWSLETTERS

Get the Climate Point: California newsletter delivered to your inbox

We're sorry, but something went wrong

An occasional email with a California focus on water, energy and climate change, curated by reporter Janet Wilson.

Mayor Rob Moon voted against the most recent iteration of the ordinance and has long said he supports putting the issue before voters in a citywide election.

Palm Springs Neighbors for Neighborhoods member Robert Grimm said the current ordinance relies on neighbors reporting violations to the city which he believes puts residents in an unfair position of having to police their neighbors. He also said living in a neighborhood with vacation rentals means people don’t get to know their neighbors as well, which means they may not feel as safe.

“I don’t want to let my grandkids play outside if I don’t know the man who just pulled up or the teenagers staying next door,” he said.

Palm Springs City Clerk Kathie Hart said there were 25,239 registered voters in the city. A petition needs to gather signatures from 15 percent of registered voters, 3,786 signatures, to trigger a special election. Signatures from 10 percent of the city’s registered voters, 2,524 signatures, would put the measure on the ballot at the next election.

Corinne Kennedy covers the west valley for The Desert Sun. She can be reached at Corinne.Kennedy@DesertSun.com or on Twitter @CorinneSKennedy.